Category: Colocation

The site of a colocation data center plays a vital role in picking up the best service provider. Tagged as a significant part of the IT environment, it is very important that you to look into certain variables that should be considered to come up with a befitting selection. It is not only about the distance, a host of parameters which form a checklist should help you in deciding the right location to set up a colocation data center. Here, we shed light on all such determinants that should be considered by the IT administrators and managers to zero in on a provider who has set up a colocation data center in the right place.

Proximity to Local IT support

The first pointer in the checklist concerning the best site for a colocation data center is to evaluate the nearness with the “Response Team”. Recognized as a team of IT support professionals, it is very important for the Response Team to be close to your site. The nearer your site is to the IT support team, the easier it will be to address your issues as and when they emerge. Nearness to Response Team favors early rectification of errors which may burn a hole in your pockets.

The Provision to Avail Remote IT Support

Some of the colocation data centers promise a remote IT support through a team of trained IT specialists. These are the IT staff who will look into the regular operational and maintenance of your colocation data center. This service when teamed with an on-site support can help you come up with the right decision regarding the best place for your colocation data center. Hence you should check out a site which is close to a remote IT support facility.

Weather Conditions

It is important that you spare a thought about the environmental concerns that a particular location faces from time to time. Despite the fact that weather is unpredictable, you should be able to estimate and plan around instances like:

Floods

Significant fluctuations in temperature

Rainfall

Average speed of wind

Regional weather reports will help you come up with the right decision for a colocation data center site. When you start collating all the above data points concerning weather, you will be able to establish a pattern of weather changes. In such cases, it is always better to pick a site which is slightly warmer when compared to regions which are susceptible to floods and strong breezes.

Susceptibility to Earthquakes

Another parameter that should feature in your location selection checklist for your colocation data center is connected with the seismic risk. Places which are prone to earthquakes should be avoided. Checking out the seismic activity of a location can save your data center from paying a heavy price in the form of an irrecoverable damage that can be caused by a natural disaster.

Power Considerations

Simply focusing on a location which promises a good amount of power is not enough. You should research well and come up with the exact locations of power stations, substations and power feeds that will supply the much-needed electricity to your data center. You should also collate information concerning the recent outages in the area along with the time taken by the provider to rectify the fault. It is only when you delve deep into the local power utilities that you will be able to make an intelligent move of picking up a favorable site for your data center. It is also important that you select a site that has access to multiple power sources instead of those that are relying on a single source of power.

Connectivity Via Multiple Routes and Airports

Analyzing the topography of the location with regard to its accessibility goes a long way in selecting a site for your data center. You need to check out a location that does not call for a travel via highways or main roads. Checking out a site that is connected with an airport is another tip that goes a long way in making the right decision. Proximity to an airport will simplify the tasks of transporting both personnel and equipment for support purposes. You should take time to come up with locations which are well connected to both domestic and international airports.

Conclusion

Preparation is indeed the key for the success of any activity, more so when it concerns the important decision of selecting a site for your colocation data center. When you keep in mind the above-mentioned parameters and tick off one factor after another, you will thank yourself for the perfect location that houses your data center. Your time and effort will pay you off when you finally make a smart move with regard to picking the best place for your colocation data center.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Cloud is the new kid on the block of hosting platforms, you should also be informed about other hosting options that are equally attractive and efficient. Here we shed light on two other hosting platforms apart from cloud, i.e. colocation hosting and managed hosting, speaking of their innate characteristics. This analysis will thus help you make the right choice of picking up a befitting platform that matches your hosting requirements in more ways than one. Here is a rundown of the three different hosting platforms under their respective heads.

The Cloud

Cloud hosting is a service that allows you to host your websites on virtual servers. Enabling you to tap into this service as much as you want, you will be required to pay only for those services that you actually need. A Cloud Service Provider (CSP) will be the authority to manage the cloud infrastructure, sparing you of the time and effort to conduct regular maintenance and operations.

A Public Cloud

Almost all the cloud hosting that is currently in vogue is linked to a public cloud model. This arrangement allows you to host your website on virtual servers from which you can extract your resources from a pool of many such publicly available virtual servers. Such an arrangement can help organizations which demand a certain amount of data security through an agreement to keep confidential data private to the sole user.

A Private Cloud

Enterprises which are governed by stringent data security and privacy norms are best served through a Private Cloud model. Making use of ring-fenced resources including networks and servers, your website which is hosted on a private cloud operates through the intervention of a cloud provider.

A Cloud hosting calls for a great deal of caution. It is the need of the hour to pick a cloud service provider who complies with various regulatory and statutory requirements concerning data security and privacy. It is also important for a CSP to guarantee you with an availability even during a downtime, since such instances can lead to heavy losses. It is also important that the Cloud should facilitate an uninterrupted means to perform transactions, come up with requests and engage in other businesses. Ease to scale your resources is the striking feature of a Cloud when compared to the other two which are discussed under their corresponding heads.

Colocation Hosting

Let us now move on to the next hosting platform; a Colocation hosting. This is a befitting choice for companies who have already invested in their IT infrastructure including servers, switches, software and storage. Under this option, a colocation service provider is ordained only to look into the activities concerning maintenance, monitoring and backing up. A Colocation hosting can be the best bet for companies who are required to comply with specific data protection requirements. It is important to be completely aware of the facilities provided by your service provider with regard to how your data is stored and maintained at all times. You should also keep a watchful eye on the scalability of a colocation service wherein which you have the luxury to shrink or expand the services matching your changing needs. A star attraction of colocation hosting comes in the shape of maximum flexibility that you can avail when you can freely employ all the custom storage configurations and servers to their utmost capacity.

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting is an extension of dedicated hosting which involves the purchase of dedicated hardware from a desired hosting service provider. The hosting company then leases out the paid up hardware to you. This arrangement calls for the choice between a utility-based model and a service-based model; with the onus of support and maintenance activities on the provider. You as a partner to managed hosting need not sweat over the task of working as a one-man army to do all the maintenance tasks all by yourself. You can bank upon the technical assistance offered by the provider when your in-house IT team can proceed with other tasks and issues.

Conclusion

Since all these hosting options demand the constant intervention of a service provider, it is important that you come up with an exhaustive assessment of your current requirements. You should not only look into the matters concerning data privacy, you should also be watchful over the support and disaster recovery activities that these providers guarantee as per the agreement. You should thus tie up with a befitting service provider who is well-informed about your needs. A service provider who lives by the promise of delivering a reliable, scalable and secure storage solution can thus be a blessing for you in more ways than you can imagine.

Despite the fact that a Colocation and Private Cloud sound similar, there is a world of difference between these two. A colocation data center is a physical location which is shared by a number of companies to place their servers and IT infrastructure. All these servers are located in close proximity so that they can lead to better latency and connectivity. On the flip side, a private cloud is a virtual machine that runs on remote servers. Sometimes a cloud runs on a colocation data center and at other times, it can be hosted on a dedicated data center as well. Here we shed light on the basic differences between Colocation and a Private Cloud.

The following are the striking dissimilarities between Private Cloud and Colocation:

The Basic Premise

A Private Cloud is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) where in you rent out a portion of the shared space on virtual machines which run inside a colocation center. The Cloud is a software that is mounted on shared computers through virtual machines that are a part of the colocation center. On the other hand, a colocation is a physical location and the address of all the servers.

The Deployment of Resources

It is indeed a challenge for businesses to integrate complex hardware and software components coming from multiple vendors. A befitting solution here comes in the form of a Private Cloud where you do not have to get bogged down by the purchase, installation, configuration and deployment of your hardware.

Businesses which are already happy with their infrastructure can check out the affordable and time-saving features offered by Colocation data centers. They can avail the physical space to house their servers on rent and pay for the power that is drained out at the location, to the service provider.

Security Concerns

Your choice between colocation and private cloud should be a function of security requirements. In an attempt to derive maximum data security and compliance to regulatory specifications, you can pick an on-premises private cloud.

It is the responsibility of colocation providers to offer data center security. They will not only safeguard your data, but also prevent security breaches to jeopardize your business objective.

Technology Requirements

A private cloud makes the most of the state-of-the-art technology to ensure that you enjoy a host of benefits including cost savings, agility and speed. The name private here refers to the fact that you will be the sole tenant who will be benefiting from the cloud technology.

Colocation data centers make use of information technologies that will help you build, deploy and maintain an up-to-date and flexible IT infrastructure. Sparing you of the huge investment to build a mission critical data center, you can bank upon the latest technology that not only saves you monies but also helps you focus on your business objectives.

The Service Providers

A Private Cloud Service Provider is ordained to manage and maintain cloud-based software, IT infrastructure and storage capabilities. The ownership of the equipment lies in the hands of the service provider who is held responsible for the maintenance of the cloud system along with keeping a watchful eye on the maintenance, security and upgrades. It is through the service provider that the Private Cloud platform becomes an IaaS.

Colocation providers, on the other hand, rent out the physical space that is required to house your servers and hardware along with other IT infrastructure. Businesses which opt for colocation services simply outsource storage and the regular maintenance of their servers and hardware while being tagged as the owners of the equipment.

Costing Constraints

When you choose to host your website on a Private Cloud, you will be free from managing the infrastructure responsibilities. The Cloud Service Provider steps in to conduct regular maintenance tasks which comes as a blessing to you. Through a Private Cloud, you will be able to devote your time towards business opportunities that will ultimately improve your bottom line. Thus companies opting for cloud services will be able to bring down their capital expenditure along with the operational costs showing up in the form of maintenance and support activities.

Enterprises choosing the colocation will have to invest a great deal in the purchase of their own equipment including switches, servers, software and hardware. It will be your sole responsibility to look into enhancements and upgrades of both software and hardware that should happen at regular intervals. You will have to manage an in-house team of IT service professionals who will be entrusted the responsibility to monitor, manage and maintain your equipment so that it is up and running at all times.

Conclusion

Each option, whether it is a Private Cloud or a Colocation comes with its innate positives and reservations. Hence it is up to you to delve deep into what your requirements are. Once you enlist all your needs, you can use these data points to come up with a long-term option that will benefit your business in more ways than you can imagine.

There are plenty of ways in which you can safeguard your data while arming it from unwarranted cyber-attacks. While you can choose a web server hosting, you can also pin your hopes on a cheap server collocation server facility that is equally safe. These are the two alternatives which seem very close to each other.

In both the scenarios, you or your company will sign up with an external partner who will maintain and host your data. When it concerns the option of web hosting, you strike a deal with a web server company which manages the server that hosts your data. The server belongs to the web company and it is through a contract with this company that your data is kept safe and secure.

Now let us move on to the next option; the idea to sign up with an affordable colocation hosting service. It is through this colocation alternative that you will be storing your invaluable data in your privately owned server. But you will strike a deal with an outsourced facility that will be ordained to host, maintain and update your data. These are enterprises tagged under the head of data center services.

Since the quality of service can never be compromised, it is important to choose a “cheap and best” colocation hosting service that is high on functionality and low on cost. The following is the rundown of considerations that you should keep in mind while opting for a colocation hosting service that promises low costs.

Delve Deep Into the Growth Trajectory of Your Business

First and foremost, it is very important that you know about the growth track of your business. You should be able to track this path to the extent that you can predict with utmost accuracy when your business is likely to grow and at what pace. These two parameters will help you arrive at your scalability requirements.

Once you ponder over your business requirements concerning data storage, you will be poised to save monies which are drained out by ineffective and unnecessary renewal charges. Only if you are in the know of your infrastructural requirements, you will be able to move away from the impulsive ordering of additional infrastructure. It is only after you gain a clear understanding of your infrastructure needs that you can sign up for an affordable colocation hosting plan; early on.

Proximity is the Key

The next consideration to sign up with an affordable colocation hosting service should be about picking a provider who is geographically close to you. It makes sense to sign up with a colocation service provider who is close to you so that you can cut down on costs connected to accessing your hardware. You need not have to travel long distances every time you wish to initiate a software upgrade. This way, it pays to sign up with a service provider who is geographically close to you so that you can enjoy cost benefits.

Check Out The Leasing Option

Who does not want to enjoy cost benefits? More so, when it concerns expensive server hosting and management services. One of the tried and tested means to save monies would be to opt for leased services. You can look out for affordable server colocation hosting service providers who own facilities and rent them out via a lease agreement. You can avail such a facility and sign the dotted line with a provider who will help you wriggle out of a cash crunch.

Contact Industry Experts

Last but not the least, it comes as a well-informed move to take expert opinion on the most promising colocation service providers. Contacting subject matter experts will help you gain insights about the best colocation partner that does not burn a hole in your pocket. It also makes sense to take the goodwill of a service provider into consideration.

Conclusion

Having spoken at length as to how to cut down your web hosting costs, you should not be under the impression that cheap stuff will always come with sub-standard quality. Hence, while you are looking to stay within your budget, you can scout for effective colocation service providers who will promise you better and safer technological solutions. The key is to sieve through the numerous alternatives that are available and zero-in on a befitting colocation service partner that can become your asset for life.

With the gaining popularity of the advantages of Co-location servers, there is even more availability of a host of colocation service providers. However, the challenge is to strike a deal with the best of the colocation providers to be able to address all your IT requirements demanded by your business. While all the service providers offer a host of services, the best would be able to address all the pain points that your business is facing relating to IT infrastructure necessities. And if you are at the juncture of choosing a colocation provider, the following pointers will help you identify the best from the lot.

Check out the IT requirements of your company

Before choosing a colocation provider, it comes as an intelligent move to identify your IT requirements so that you can match these with the services that are promised by a service provider. A well-informed move of pinpointing all the services that are needed by the data center provider will help your IT administrator adopt a holistic approach towards the selection.

Delving deep into factors such as the colocation environment, the IT admin should enlist the hardware requirements alongside quoting all the peripheral components that would be required. When all the requirements are clearly brought to the table, it becomes an easy task to strike a deal with the provider, not only for the present but also to turn the association into a long-standing business prospect.

The Location of the Data Center

The second important pointer to select the best Colocation provider is to find out about the location of the data center. This is one of the best practices followed by IT admins, attaching significance to the geographical location of a data center. Going by the strong influence the geographical conditions have on the progress of a company, it is important to choose a provider who will help you wriggle out of weather changes. A provider who can insulate your data center against the risks of unforeseen exigencies like cyclones and storms can be your top choice.

A Co-location provider should be able to shield your server from hindrances like network latency while offering to provide disaster recovery services. Tagging your business continuity with weather is thus a good move to enjoy uptime and service availability at all times and seasons.

Delve into the Level of Uptime

The level of uptime that can be offered by the Co-location provider is the next specific that demands attention. It is hence the prime responsibility of your IT administrator to probe into the current level of uptime offered by the prospective service provider. Your uptime is your ticket to progress when a downtime can cost you a lot of money.

Given the fact that the data center design does not impact the uptime, it is only with human interference that things can go out of control. Mismanagement on part of the data center provider can cost you a fortune. The 100% availability of electrical and mechanical systems leads to system uptime which can work in your favor. Hence, it is important to ask relevant questions to the provider so that he will be able to provide you with substantial proof about how downtime instances were tackled in the past. The IT admin should specifically pose questions about all the challenges the provider faced and what was done to overcome such situations.

How Strong is the Facility Maintenance of the Provider?

The IT admin should question the capabilities of a Colocation provider in offering robust facility maintenance services. Checking whether the data center is subjected to constant maintenance as part of its effective management, the IT administrator should select a provider who can ensure the proper upkeep of all the facilities including cooling and power requirements.

A mindful service provider who is aware of the thresholds of various components can become your first choice. Calling for a great deal of presence of mind, a service provider who lives in the present can do a good job to avert an outage. Thus, it goes without saying that a proactive provider will attract your attention and lead you to sign up a long-term, mutually beneficial IT contract.

Pricing Issues

It is the responsibility of your IT department to sign up with a Co-location provider who can manage your data center in the most cost-effective manner. Looking into the pricing policies of the provider can help you identify hidden costs and expenses that can bun a hole in your budget.

Data Security – A Non-Negotiable Feature

It is another tip to attach prime importance to the security of your data. It does not make sense to opt for a data center which does not guarantee data security. Hence, the IT admin should pose questions to gain insights about the security mechanisms that are in place. Culling information regarding digital surveillance tools and firewalls which safeguard your data from unwarranted users accessing your Co-location setup can help you make the right choice.

A Provider Who is Good with Data Recovery

Another feature that will help a Colocation provider stand out from the rest is linked to his data recovery capabilities. If your enterprise thrusts a great deal of importance on data recovery, then it will be an intelligent move to sign up with a Co-location provider who is a data recovery specialist.

Trust – The Human Characteristic that Speaks Volumes

The good invariably makes noise. You will be able to identify a Co-location provider who has been there and done that since long, while garnering goodwill from his existing clientele. A successful track record marked with reliability and consistency in offering Co-location services will make up a good provider who can eventually become your asset for life.

Conclusion

There is no dearth of Co-location solutions that are offered by many service providers. But the trick is to pick the best one out of the lot. And such a provider should be able to offer you cost-effective services and business continuity through uptime; the pointers in favor of a good colocation service provider.

A Co-location Server is a web server that is erected at a certain facility by a service provider. Also referred to as Colo, this is an offsite server that works as a perfect bet for a small business looking to derive the benefits of large IT infrastructure without additional costs.

A Co-location is a secured rack promising regulated power along with a dedicated internet connection. Round the clock support offered by the service provider is another service that can be availed by choosing a co-location server along with the assurance that your server is secured against unforeseen exigencies like a theft, fire or falling prey to acts of vandalism.

When you choose a co-location server, you can be rest assured of its security when it is erected in a safe place when compared to a susceptible place like your warehouse or office. These two places can be a potent target for the above-mentioned dangers, which can be averted through co-location facilities.

Allowing small enterprises to set up their server in another user’s facility, they can, through a co-location server share the bandwidth as if it is their own. Costing a little more than a standard web hosting server, the high bandwidth that you begin to enjoy can offset the costing feature. Once the server is set up, the next step is to physically move it to the facility of the co-location service provider when your server will be installed in a rack of the co-location facility. You can then make the most of the power, IP and bandwidth that the server offers you.

Advantages of Co-location Servers

After defining the concept behind a Co-location Server, let us now move on to delve deep into the advantages of these servers.

Bandwidth Linked to Cost Savings

More and more e-commerce businesses are tending towards Co-location Servers primarily because of the bandwidth that is offered by this option. While you can enjoy better uptime, you are also at an advantage to save costs as well. Here is an example that will explain you about costing advantages.

A Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection usually costs you anywhere between $150 and $200. But for the same cost, you can have your single server mounted on a Co-location Server that will offer you a much higher bandwidth. This way, you will be saving money with a powerful uptime when compared to the option of a dedicated server coming to you with a might higher quote.

Affordability

Seen as another segment of cost saving, a Colo through its powerful bandwidth comes as an affordable option supporting new applications like “big data” and cloud computing. You can also avail the benefits of volume pricing without negotiating for a lower price since a Colo allows you to manage multiple contracts.

Security – The Second Most Important Benefiv

Users opting for co-location servers can effortlessly house their hardware and other peripherals in a secure place. You might be wondering about the safety characteristics that are in place with co-location servers. Here they come! Security is ensured through camera surveillance along with fire detection and extinguishing devices that are installed at every co-location site. These servers are also backed up by biometric features supported by a card key entry permission and cage locks.

High on Reliability

You have the luxury of multiple connection feeds along with filtered power. Taking care of everything that can go wrong with power supply, a Colo comes with backup power generators. This way, a Co-location server addresses the important need of power required by web-based and e-commerce businesses.

The round-the-clock support offered by the professional team of a Co-location service provider is another feature strengthening the reliability of these servers. The remote maintenance and troubleshooting services offered by a Colo provider helps you enjoy peace of mind, with an assurance that your data and server are always protected in the hands of able technicians.

Option to Scale Up Your Server

Since the entire server machinery is yours, you are the one who can have the last word when it comes to server upgrades. There can be situations concerning a very slow machine or a server that doesn’t meet your memory requirements. Both these conditions can be taken care of, without waiting for a nod from the service provider. You can simply initiate server upgrading activities and you are covered.

All in an attempt to improve network performance, enterprises signed up for a Colocation server can access some of the largest IT infrastructures in the world that are in vogue with an additional feature of a scalable IP network.

The Freedom to Install New Tools and Software

It is not only the hardware that is in your control. Through a Colo, you also have complete control over the software and tools. With this web hosting option, you don’t have to knock the doors of your service provider for any software change. You can effortlessly make the necessary changes by installing new software, all by yourself.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, in keeping with the above-mentioned advantages that a Co-location server has in store for you, small enterprises which are looking out for a robust server can benefit from this alternative. Facilitating an enhanced online presence, e-commerce marketplaces can be spared of issues concerning network connections when they sign up with a Co-location service provider as their web hosting option.

2017 can be tagged as a promising year for the European Data Center Market on account of the numerous technologies that are being embedded in the data centers. With all eyes on the 5 G mobile technology, the European market is also heading towards a sustainable demand for cloud-centric operations. Projected to grow to $10.82 billion [1] by the end of 2020, it is an important piece of trivia to know that United Kingdom leads the pack with 224 data centers. Paris is second in line with 48, while Amsterdam records 38 data centers.

Given these favorable trends, the future of a colocation hosting center is governed by a host of advantages and disadvantages; all of which are enlisted under their respective heads.

Positives of Colocation Hosting In Europe

Europe as a continent is registering a rapid growth with new entrants entering the scene, pushing the need for colocation data centers to be concentrated in Western Europe. Supported by the need for space and ancillary utilities, businesses are constantly looking out for colocation data centers.

Colocation servers come in as a perfect bet for companies to strengthen their operations by making the most of superior quality managed data center services that are thriving in the European markets. Enabling businesses to prune their operational IT expenditure, this colocation option bestows them the luxury of generating increased revenues.

With the rising demand for colocation services, service providers are going the extra mile in offering specific scalability features that can be availed by entrepreneurs. This is leading to the phenomenon of colocation providers teaming up with cloud providers and hardware enterprises to offer state-of-the-art cloud features for colocation customers.

In addition to simple data storage facilities, the European market is now at the receiving end of high speed data analytics solutions that can effortlessly catapult businesses to the next level.

Given the dynamic nature of data center management, the onus is on Data Center Managers to keep pace with the constantly increasing capacity requirements. When this constraint is teamed with a tight budget, they have no other option but to turn their focus to colocation servers as the best bet.

Colocation while coming as a low-cost alternative also offers the flexibility to European players to downgrade or upgrade the technological needs of their enterprises so as to match their specific requirements. With most of European companies having a watchful eye on pruning down their operational costs, the colocation option comes as a budget-friendly option.

Disadvantages of European Colocation Servers

Battling with regulatory and compliance issues, the European market with its dynamically changing operating expenditure is posing an issue concerning the location of these colocation servers.

Certain locations in Europe tagged under the head of “not recommended” places to host a colocation server pose an obstacle that needs to be overcome.

With initial set-up costs rising, some European players may not be inclined to invest in colocation and might opt for basic hosting.

An additional costing factor comes in the form of hiring and paying for the services of a techie who will be ordained to manage and maintain your server.

In view of the advantages and disadvantages of going the colocation way, if European players are able to find a data center location in close proximity to their business, this physical constraint can bring about a cost-friendly and effective option for European businesses to prosper.

Needless to mention, preparation is the key to strike the best deal with a colocation provider. With a blueprint in mind, you will be in a better position to strike a great deal with the provider, putting your negotiation skills to the ultimate test. Hence what you get out of the deal is in direct correlation to how strong your negotiation capabilities are. So, here are the most important factors that come in the form of essential queries for which responses should be kept handy to strike a feasible deal with a colocation provider.

Requirements of space

The prime question that needs to be answered is the ability of the colocation provider to support your needs for hardware expansions. Enabling you to add additional hardware to your existing framework is the prime responsibility of the provider. While it is very common for these providers to promise that they support an enhanced requirement for space, it is majorly your responsibility to ensure you are at the receiving end of this benefit in the real sense of the word.

Service Levels To Match Your Needs

It is also an important factor to ascertain what service levels that you can expect for every application that runs on the managed service. A provider who values your time by scheduling maintenance activities during non-working hours can become your top bet. Also, it is very important for the provider to support any query in the shortest possible response time through a well-defined emergency maintenance system.

The contract you ink with the provider should be in your best interest permitting you to be compensated for any disruption of service from the provider’s side.

It is also important to not go overboard with your requirements. While many datacenters offer sugar-coated solutions in the form of up-selling services, it is for you to apply your discretion to opt only for those services that you actually need. Thus, it pays a great deal to avoid the temptation of over-specifying your demands.

Temperature Control

Temperature control is an important physical factor that should be taken into cognizance before signing the dotted line of the datacenter maintenance agreement. While it is the duty of the colocation provider to come up with a detailed analysis of your equipment, their team of professionals should also look into the aspects of warding off the ill-effects of heat that will adversely affect your hardware. The importance of emergency power back-ups takes center stage when a small fluctuation in the power outage can cause a spiraling effect to your operations; significantly impacting your end-users and business.

Single Points – A Big “No”

Thrusting a lot of importance on the data pipes that are used to network your datacenter, a colocation provider who offers robust solutions can be chosen. This way, you will not be dependent on a single route. A failure that is caused to one route can thus be compensated through diverse routes; a non-negotiable service that should be included in the contract agreement.

Span of Control

It is when things go out of hands that you should be in a position to interact with the concerned professional who is ordained to fix your issues. It is the prime objective of colocation services to offer incident response times matching your needs. And in the case of failing to hit the fixed times, your agreement should spell benefits in the form of recovering service credits or a money-back clause for the dissatisfaction of service levels.

The Positives and Negatives of Colocation Hosting

If you’re a small scale business owner who is in need of all the advantages of a large IT department devoid of the cost of running one in-house, then colocation hosting is one of the best option for you.

Several big businesses invest a lot of money to host their own websites, servers and for various other applications by building the infrastructure along with a team of professionals to manage these servers on a daily basis. But it is difficult for a small business to build such a department. If you want to do it, shared, dedicated and complete colocation hosting are the options available in the market.

Positives of Colocation Hosting

Cost to Bandwidth Ratio – One of the main positive factors of colocation is its cost to bandwidth ratio. A server can be colocated to a place having improved redundancy and higher connection speeds. Your colocation savings can increase drastically if you are looking for a T1 line.

Superior Technical Support Services – Colocation facilities have superior technical support services as compared to other. If you come up with problems such as high temperature rates, data backup and power outages, there is no need to worry since there is a high level of protection against such issues. Also, if you are expanding or moving your business or opening a new business, then you don’t have to worry about your database, website or other application.

User-Friendly – If you own the server and you are making use of colocation hosting, you don’t have to wait for the service provider to organize it, as you can upgrade both software and hardware easily. If you are in a need of an operating system or certain framework, then just purchase and install it.

High Level of Safety – Several colocation hosting providers have classy security setups, even some are located underground in secured bunkers which are very safe.

Negatives of Colocation Hosting

Difficulty in Finding Reliable Hosting Provider– It might be difficult to find a standard and a trustworthy colocation hosting provider. If you need physical access to your server instead of making use of a fully managed service, but if you aren’t near a good colocation service provider, then you will face little bit difficulty in getting one.

Volatile Pricing – As compared to normal hosting, even to dedicated servers, colocation hosting can be quite expensive and often varies in price. You are supposed to pay the providers according to their services based on data transferred to and from the server.

If you are opting for colocation hosting, then you must be careful and precise on what you require from your server verses how much you can afford. You should go for colocation hosting, if you are in a need of professional IT service to manage. If you are a small company not having much activity on the server or have low traffic on the website, then colocation hosting will not worth the cost or effort. But if you have high web presence but can’t afford big problems in staff salaries, network connection, etc, then managed colocation hosting will be the best solution for you to save your money and time.

Does Colocation Make Sense for your Business?

In case you are looking for good hosting solutions for your business, you would have come across the term Colocation. Just like dedicated servers and cloud hosting, Colocation is also a hosting option for you. In fact, it might be the best choice for you.

What exactly is Colocation?

In short, a Colocation provider allows you to place your own servers and other hardware in their data center. You pay for the space you occupy as well as the facilities provided by the data center, such as stable power supply, network connectivity, etc.

The most important advantage of Colocation is that it allows you to have your own servers in a stable and safe environment. You wouldn’t have to worry about taking risks or increasing infrastructure while scaling your servers.

So, does Colocation make sense for your business?

It would, if:

You have multiple office locations : Managing employees in different locations can be a hassle. When it comes to providing steady, reliable network for your multiple office locations, (either same city or different cities) Colocation would be the best option. It would be able to move data through the most geographically able data networks.

You have own hardware : If you currently own a server set-up that is capable, opting for Colocation can help you save some valuable money. You wouldn’t have to set-up power, cooling requirements, etc in-house. Rather, a Colocation data center would provide all those for a far lesser amount.

An In-house data center is too costly for your business: Google’s search engine returns around 11.5 million results for “data center total cost of ownership” according to a report. It shows that a huge number of companies are considering this aspect. The operating costs for servers would be too high if you have a small sized business.

In such cases, Colocation is the perfect solution. As you are sharing the support infrastructure with numerous other companies, your ownership cost goes down drastically.

Recovery Options : An in-house data center will have its limits when it comes to recovery options. Professional Colocation data centers, on the other hand are large facilities with different redundancy levels and all possible precautions. They make sure that your servers have minimal working issues, and remain available throughout.

Scalability : If your business is growing at a fast pace, the existing in-house data center might become insufficient. To build a data center is by no means a low-cost task. If it exceeds your budget, your best option is Colocation – an affordable and stable hosing solution.

Company Resources : You might not have security personnel who might be around 24/7 to ensure protection of your servers. As servers are online 24/7, the chance of hacking is high. If such resources are too expensive, Colocation is an affordable alternative.

Similarly, you can choose Colocation also to free up existing human resources who are spending time with server and equipment upkeep. They would be able to concentrate on more important business tasks.

High Requirement Applications : Leasing servers would not be an economical option in the long run if your applications require high performance that consumes a lot of resources. In such cases, making a one-time payment to buy your own servers and opting for Colocation is a less costly option.